Well, so far I have had very little down time, which is a good thing, but I do wish I had a little more time to write some blogs.
Me and Andrew had a successful stay in Kudoko village the other night, we got there a bit after lunch and transported a projector and generator so we could show a film, which was the first time many of them had seen a film. It was good to be around the kids of the village again, after spending so much time with children in Uganda I was really needing to be back in that atmosphere. I feel like Ive become so comfortable around what I would earlier have considered to be uncomfortable situations. Being able to just jump in and dance around like a maniac with these people is a cool thing.
The film went really late and we didn’t end up eating dinner until it was absolutely pitch black out. It gets so dark out in the village and yet the locals seem to be able to see fine, as I trip over every little stone. I ate three large n’simas which put me into a nice little food coma.
We got the opportunity to sleep in the chiefs hut, the ground was freezing and I don’t know how they sleep on such a hard rocky surface. My sleeping bag went up to the middle of my chest, and my mosquito net covered from the top of my chest to the top of my head… there aren’t too many tall people here.
Obviously it wasn’t the best night of sleep, but I did get some sleep. I found out in the morning that the weird noises I was hearing at night was actually the ducks that they let sleep inside the house. I woke up to a bunch of kids poking their heads into the window and staring at me as I lay there groggily at first light.
For breakfast we went to the trading center a few miles from town and bought some bread and tea, with the bread traditionally being dunked into the tea, it was actually pretty good.
In the morning it was more joy and fun playing with the kids and then participating in the community center, teaching and helping with the feeding program.
Me and Andrew are making great progress with the internship program and helping out Flood Malawi in various ways. I have been loving leading devotions in the morning and various events throughout the week.
I cant believe how little time we have left, it will be interesting and busy on this last leg of the trip as we prepare for whats next.
That’s all the time I have now, hope all is well at home.
-Kyle
Monday, August 30, 2010
Kudoko Village
Our team is finally all together settled into Malawi, myself and BKR arriving from Uganda, while Adam, Kelly, Cameron, and Jesse arriving after their safari adventure in South Africa.
Today we had the opportunity to visit Kudoku village, which is about a 40 minute drive from the COTN village we are staying at in Lilongwe. We all got dressed up in anticipation of the meeting we were to have with the village chiefs and village elders. As we turned down the dirt road toward the village we were confronted with a cloud a dust, a common occurrence during the dry season of Malawi that we arrived during. Emerging from the dirt we were told that we were just about there, and that the building we were driving towards was one that Flood had helped construct through the donation of concrete and roofing materials. A steady stream of kids were now following us as we made our final approach to the building, knowing that a car full of “Mazungus”, or white people, usually means a couple soccer balls (which it did). Emerging from the car to be greeted by a bunch of happy kids with big smiles is a sure way to fill your soul.
After we arrived a couple of Flood Malawi members gathered all the kids and started a makeshift soccer camp, as myself and the rest of the team was ushered inside. We learned that the building Flood helped construct was now a church, as well as a classroom, and the village meeting hall. We sat in a circle and formally introduced ourselves to everyone and got acquainted with the different chiefs and village representatives. I glanced down and noticed my black dress shoes were already covered in a nice red dirt… ahhh its good to be in Africa.
Next on the agenda was a tour of part of the village. We started our walk around and were shown all the fields they usually grow crops, but because it is winter here, are now barren. We were told stories of how much of a blessing it was when, a couple of years ago, Flood donated seeds and fertilizer during a famine, and how the crops they yielded from that not only provided food during a much needed time, but were also some of their most abundant crops ever. We walked through peoples homes and were shown the building in which they sleep, cook, and relieve themselves; all of which were humbling experiences. We made it to our destination when we reached a water pump, that we learned was the well that Flood had dug for Kudoku. As we arrived, we saw some women using it to draw water, and listened to how much of an impact this well has had not only on Kudoku village, but on the entire community also. Most of us decided to take a drive from the ‘Flood water’ after learning it drills into a water table that is quite pure and naturally filtered.
We were then taken to a couple homes that had cooked the goat and chickens we had brought with us. The tables were littered with all sorts of delicious looking food, so foreign to us, yet so enticing. We gathered around, said a prayer, and dug in. There are no personal plates provided here, and no silverware either. Everyone uses their hands, and just grabs from whichever dish looks appealing at that moment. Most every bite is accompanied by the staple food, n’sima, which is basically boiled cornflower. It is sticky, relatively flavourless, very filling, and I rather enjoyed it. The strangest thing on the table were the goat intestines, which despite being rather chewy, were cooked in some sort of sauce that made them edible…. or at least edible enough to try a tiny piece.
We were then taken back to the meeting building in order to tackle the agenda we came here with. Many of you know about human rights initiative we are hoping to take to Malawi in the Summer of 2011, and we were able to have some honest dialogue about what that might look like in Kudoku village. It was very encouraging to hear what the chiefs had to say and that they love having us there. We also got to talk about the internship exchange program me and Andrew will be researching for the two weeks after the rest of the team leaves on Monday. A vision we have for that would involved village immersion, which would mean having some people stay in this village for a few nights during the internship to get a feel of what Malawian village life is like. We had some good ideas about that, got great and encouraging feedback, and actually scheduled two nights that Andrew and I would be spending the night here in about a week to try it out… so wish us luck for that.
Adam had everyone’s attention for the final topic of the day, which was the presentation of mosquito nets. This was a surprisingly emotional time for everyone there, as Adam explained where these nets had come from. Flood member, and local artist, Andrew Salituri had gone to Malawi a couple of years ago, and met the members of Kudoku village. Upon returning home he dedicated each piece of art to these people and their stories. Every piece he has sold since then, was sold with the promise of using the money to buy mosquito nets for Malawi. Through his sacrifice he raised enough money to provide not only mosquito nets to the entire village, but to many other people as well. And now we were given the privilege of presenting them to the village, to take part in the kind of journey that impacts and transforms people. At the end of Adams presentation all the elders and chiefs erupted in applause knowing of the change this will make to their village.
Driving away from Kudoku was a blur, the team was tired and full. In our stomachs and in our spirits. It was great to have heard so much about this place at Flood and now to be able to experience it for ourselves.
Thank you for your thoughts and prayers as we trek onward.
-Kyle
Today we had the opportunity to visit Kudoku village, which is about a 40 minute drive from the COTN village we are staying at in Lilongwe. We all got dressed up in anticipation of the meeting we were to have with the village chiefs and village elders. As we turned down the dirt road toward the village we were confronted with a cloud a dust, a common occurrence during the dry season of Malawi that we arrived during. Emerging from the dirt we were told that we were just about there, and that the building we were driving towards was one that Flood had helped construct through the donation of concrete and roofing materials. A steady stream of kids were now following us as we made our final approach to the building, knowing that a car full of “Mazungus”, or white people, usually means a couple soccer balls (which it did). Emerging from the car to be greeted by a bunch of happy kids with big smiles is a sure way to fill your soul.
After we arrived a couple of Flood Malawi members gathered all the kids and started a makeshift soccer camp, as myself and the rest of the team was ushered inside. We learned that the building Flood helped construct was now a church, as well as a classroom, and the village meeting hall. We sat in a circle and formally introduced ourselves to everyone and got acquainted with the different chiefs and village representatives. I glanced down and noticed my black dress shoes were already covered in a nice red dirt… ahhh its good to be in Africa.
Next on the agenda was a tour of part of the village. We started our walk around and were shown all the fields they usually grow crops, but because it is winter here, are now barren. We were told stories of how much of a blessing it was when, a couple of years ago, Flood donated seeds and fertilizer during a famine, and how the crops they yielded from that not only provided food during a much needed time, but were also some of their most abundant crops ever. We walked through peoples homes and were shown the building in which they sleep, cook, and relieve themselves; all of which were humbling experiences. We made it to our destination when we reached a water pump, that we learned was the well that Flood had dug for Kudoku. As we arrived, we saw some women using it to draw water, and listened to how much of an impact this well has had not only on Kudoku village, but on the entire community also. Most of us decided to take a drive from the ‘Flood water’ after learning it drills into a water table that is quite pure and naturally filtered.
We were then taken to a couple homes that had cooked the goat and chickens we had brought with us. The tables were littered with all sorts of delicious looking food, so foreign to us, yet so enticing. We gathered around, said a prayer, and dug in. There are no personal plates provided here, and no silverware either. Everyone uses their hands, and just grabs from whichever dish looks appealing at that moment. Most every bite is accompanied by the staple food, n’sima, which is basically boiled cornflower. It is sticky, relatively flavourless, very filling, and I rather enjoyed it. The strangest thing on the table were the goat intestines, which despite being rather chewy, were cooked in some sort of sauce that made them edible…. or at least edible enough to try a tiny piece.
We were then taken back to the meeting building in order to tackle the agenda we came here with. Many of you know about human rights initiative we are hoping to take to Malawi in the Summer of 2011, and we were able to have some honest dialogue about what that might look like in Kudoku village. It was very encouraging to hear what the chiefs had to say and that they love having us there. We also got to talk about the internship exchange program me and Andrew will be researching for the two weeks after the rest of the team leaves on Monday. A vision we have for that would involved village immersion, which would mean having some people stay in this village for a few nights during the internship to get a feel of what Malawian village life is like. We had some good ideas about that, got great and encouraging feedback, and actually scheduled two nights that Andrew and I would be spending the night here in about a week to try it out… so wish us luck for that.
Adam had everyone’s attention for the final topic of the day, which was the presentation of mosquito nets. This was a surprisingly emotional time for everyone there, as Adam explained where these nets had come from. Flood member, and local artist, Andrew Salituri had gone to Malawi a couple of years ago, and met the members of Kudoku village. Upon returning home he dedicated each piece of art to these people and their stories. Every piece he has sold since then, was sold with the promise of using the money to buy mosquito nets for Malawi. Through his sacrifice he raised enough money to provide not only mosquito nets to the entire village, but to many other people as well. And now we were given the privilege of presenting them to the village, to take part in the kind of journey that impacts and transforms people. At the end of Adams presentation all the elders and chiefs erupted in applause knowing of the change this will make to their village.
Driving away from Kudoku was a blur, the team was tired and full. In our stomachs and in our spirits. It was great to have heard so much about this place at Flood and now to be able to experience it for ourselves.
Thank you for your thoughts and prayers as we trek onward.
-Kyle
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
I LOVE UGANDA
Well, Uganda has been full of breathtaking experiences.
Its been hard to find time to sit at a computer and write a quick update, and at this point there is just soooo much that has been happening that Ill only be able to give a quick glimpse into life here.
We arrived in Entebbe and were picked up by our friend Edward, a local Ugandan and ‘pop star’/worship singer. We got to see his house and a little bit of Kampala before taking the drive to Lira. Lira is about 150 miles away from Kampala but the drive takes about 6 hours one way because of the poor conditions of the roads, most of them being dirt. A 6 hour car ride on top of two ten hour plane rides, most of which was spent sleepless left us dazed and tired, but we pressed on. I think within the first few hours of being in Uganda I got bit by a couple mosquitos, a gnarly spider, ate some sort of cinnamon roll that hopefully was cleanish, had some delicious tiny bananas, as well as some sort of cooked banana we bought on the side of the road. These are all things you are supposed to try and avoid, but the truth is, in order to avoid everything you are warned about in the states, I would have to live in a balloon. Life is definitely different here, its more risky, even if the nationals act like its no big deal. But I love it.
Uganda is beautiful. I cant explain in full, but the country is so green and lush and pretty, and everything has real character. I see everything as being old, but not in the sense of walking through Europe and seeing a building built by the Roman empire, but in the sense of surveying a land that has been here forever.
Everyone I have met has been so friendly, and the kids are magical. This place fills up my soul. All the village kids see me and yell ‘muno’ which means white man. They love to wave, and everyone seems so thrilled to see someone like me, its humbling and strange.
In the first few days of being in Lira I went to a hospital, a prison, and a baby home for babies that have no parents. All experiences have rocked my world. In the hospital there is so much brokenness, some of the saddest and most gut wrenching skin diseases I have ever seen, as well as so many aids patients, and the hundreds of bicycle accidents. A simple bicycle accident… maybe a broken arm or twisted ankle with a few scratches, becomes life threatening here. Most of the people have poor health to begin with, and when a scratch turns into an infection and the person is HIV+ it can turn into a completely debilitating situation. We prayed for everyone we had time to. God is definitely at work here, one man with AIDS who was paralyzed from the waist down from an infection that I met, named Augustine, ended up getting out of the hospital and I saw him at church the next Sunday, his first time coming. I quickly learned the Africans love to make us muno’s speak publicly and have been put on the spot plenty of times.
The babies home was a place I so looked forward to go to, and because I love babies so much, made my heart so joyful to be there. But confronted with the reality that there are about 25 babies, and 3 nuns that take care of them all, and knowing none of these babies have parents, while listening to the nuns tell us that not too many of them actually make it out of the home literally broke my heart. It is good that there are people doing what they can for these babies though, and that in itself is a blessing. I got to hold and bathe many of the babies, as well as help feed them. I got peed on twice… which the nuns told me was a blessing.
Ill save many of the stories of brokenness I have witnessed, as well as the level of extreme poverty I have witnessed because they are jut so hard to recount, and you never quite get used to them, though they are everywhere.
At the COTN childrens home that we are staying at there was initially a lot of uncomfortablilty on my end with not knowing exactly how to interact with the kids, and second guessing myself especially when it is so difficult to communicate at first. However, any uneasy feelings I had have turned into so much joy now that I am ‘in it’ over here and loving being with the kids. There is one boy, Arnold, who was one of the first to kind of let me in to his world, and we would go at draw in the ground, and then the next thing you know there are 20 kids drawing around me and I am going around giving them ‘marks’ for completion after I give them something to draw or spell. Gahhh there is just so much to talk about if I could. It really is amazing here.
I left the children’s home yesterday and was brought to tears. Saying goodbye to the children and staff that I have so deeply connected with and have had such a massive impact on my life, all within two weeks was very very hard. A few of the kids I connected with, Unis, Anna, and Isaac in particular are people that I will never forget, and will be sure to stay in contact with them in one way or another. Also leaving Prosasco, the child the sponsor was so uniquely heart breaking.
God is at work in this place, and I have been so spiritually fed and filled while here.
I love telling people about Alisa because they all remember her and they all miss and love her. It is something we have in common and has helped me build relationships with many of the staff and kids.
I have already made so many great memories with the kids here and the interns and Andrew, and there is a weird paradox of time in my head, where I know we haven’t been here long… but I feel like I have been here way longer than I have. I am writing from Sipi Falls, Uganda, a beautiful place where we are taking a couple of days to debrief and rest before ‘phase two’ begins in Malawi.
Sorry I haven’t been able to post more updates, the brevity and broadness of this update can not even begin to communicate how amazing, and life changing this trip has been so far. Thank you for your continued prayers.
-Kyle
Its been hard to find time to sit at a computer and write a quick update, and at this point there is just soooo much that has been happening that Ill only be able to give a quick glimpse into life here.
We arrived in Entebbe and were picked up by our friend Edward, a local Ugandan and ‘pop star’/worship singer. We got to see his house and a little bit of Kampala before taking the drive to Lira. Lira is about 150 miles away from Kampala but the drive takes about 6 hours one way because of the poor conditions of the roads, most of them being dirt. A 6 hour car ride on top of two ten hour plane rides, most of which was spent sleepless left us dazed and tired, but we pressed on. I think within the first few hours of being in Uganda I got bit by a couple mosquitos, a gnarly spider, ate some sort of cinnamon roll that hopefully was cleanish, had some delicious tiny bananas, as well as some sort of cooked banana we bought on the side of the road. These are all things you are supposed to try and avoid, but the truth is, in order to avoid everything you are warned about in the states, I would have to live in a balloon. Life is definitely different here, its more risky, even if the nationals act like its no big deal. But I love it.
Uganda is beautiful. I cant explain in full, but the country is so green and lush and pretty, and everything has real character. I see everything as being old, but not in the sense of walking through Europe and seeing a building built by the Roman empire, but in the sense of surveying a land that has been here forever.
Everyone I have met has been so friendly, and the kids are magical. This place fills up my soul. All the village kids see me and yell ‘muno’ which means white man. They love to wave, and everyone seems so thrilled to see someone like me, its humbling and strange.
In the first few days of being in Lira I went to a hospital, a prison, and a baby home for babies that have no parents. All experiences have rocked my world. In the hospital there is so much brokenness, some of the saddest and most gut wrenching skin diseases I have ever seen, as well as so many aids patients, and the hundreds of bicycle accidents. A simple bicycle accident… maybe a broken arm or twisted ankle with a few scratches, becomes life threatening here. Most of the people have poor health to begin with, and when a scratch turns into an infection and the person is HIV+ it can turn into a completely debilitating situation. We prayed for everyone we had time to. God is definitely at work here, one man with AIDS who was paralyzed from the waist down from an infection that I met, named Augustine, ended up getting out of the hospital and I saw him at church the next Sunday, his first time coming. I quickly learned the Africans love to make us muno’s speak publicly and have been put on the spot plenty of times.
The babies home was a place I so looked forward to go to, and because I love babies so much, made my heart so joyful to be there. But confronted with the reality that there are about 25 babies, and 3 nuns that take care of them all, and knowing none of these babies have parents, while listening to the nuns tell us that not too many of them actually make it out of the home literally broke my heart. It is good that there are people doing what they can for these babies though, and that in itself is a blessing. I got to hold and bathe many of the babies, as well as help feed them. I got peed on twice… which the nuns told me was a blessing.
Ill save many of the stories of brokenness I have witnessed, as well as the level of extreme poverty I have witnessed because they are jut so hard to recount, and you never quite get used to them, though they are everywhere.
At the COTN childrens home that we are staying at there was initially a lot of uncomfortablilty on my end with not knowing exactly how to interact with the kids, and second guessing myself especially when it is so difficult to communicate at first. However, any uneasy feelings I had have turned into so much joy now that I am ‘in it’ over here and loving being with the kids. There is one boy, Arnold, who was one of the first to kind of let me in to his world, and we would go at draw in the ground, and then the next thing you know there are 20 kids drawing around me and I am going around giving them ‘marks’ for completion after I give them something to draw or spell. Gahhh there is just so much to talk about if I could. It really is amazing here.
I left the children’s home yesterday and was brought to tears. Saying goodbye to the children and staff that I have so deeply connected with and have had such a massive impact on my life, all within two weeks was very very hard. A few of the kids I connected with, Unis, Anna, and Isaac in particular are people that I will never forget, and will be sure to stay in contact with them in one way or another. Also leaving Prosasco, the child the sponsor was so uniquely heart breaking.
God is at work in this place, and I have been so spiritually fed and filled while here.
I love telling people about Alisa because they all remember her and they all miss and love her. It is something we have in common and has helped me build relationships with many of the staff and kids.
I have already made so many great memories with the kids here and the interns and Andrew, and there is a weird paradox of time in my head, where I know we haven’t been here long… but I feel like I have been here way longer than I have. I am writing from Sipi Falls, Uganda, a beautiful place where we are taking a couple of days to debrief and rest before ‘phase two’ begins in Malawi.
Sorry I haven’t been able to post more updates, the brevity and broadness of this update can not even begin to communicate how amazing, and life changing this trip has been so far. Thank you for your continued prayers.
-Kyle
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
On my way....
Well Im sitting in Heathrow airport waiting for our flight to Uganda which will be in 4 hours. I didn’t get too much sleep on the airplane here despite my taking advantage of the complementary glass of wine that was offered. But, because I left on Monday night, and arrived here Tuesday afternoon, and leave here Tuesday night and arrive Wednesday afternoon, if I sleep on the flight to Uganda I shouldn’t be hit too hard with jet lag, according to me. Lets hope it works out…. I need to start counting sheep early.
It was interesting leaving home, the hardest part knowing that I will be away from Alisa for so long as she sets out on her own adventure. But I know there is purpose behind everything and am feeling hopeful and encouraged. Leaving home reminds me of what Im leaving behind, and helps me to realize how incredibly blessed I am to have the friends, family and community I do. Im excited for the trip and glad to have a seasoned veteran traveling with me in Andrew.
As we got closer to the ground in London and you can start to see the ground, there is the familiar checkerboard green fields and other plots of land we are so used to seeing from above. However as the little boy sitting behind me looked out his window he kept saying ‘look mom there are so many soccer fields’. Of course I just smiled in the cuteness of his saying that, but it also got me thinking. Of course a rectangleishly shaped green plot of land bordered by either roads or trees looks like a soccer field to a little boy, because that’s all he knows to associate it with. It reminded me of the idea that we only are able to think and live with what is familiar to us. If he had experienced a flight before and been told that this is what the ground looks like from above, then he wouldn’t call them soccer fields.
As I travel to foreign places Id like to think I am arming myself with new ways to view and think about the world, about life. The more we familiarize ourselves with the foreign, and take the leap of faith to unfamiliar territory the more tools we have to view the world and the fewer ‘soccer fields’ there are in our life.
It was interesting leaving home, the hardest part knowing that I will be away from Alisa for so long as she sets out on her own adventure. But I know there is purpose behind everything and am feeling hopeful and encouraged. Leaving home reminds me of what Im leaving behind, and helps me to realize how incredibly blessed I am to have the friends, family and community I do. Im excited for the trip and glad to have a seasoned veteran traveling with me in Andrew.
As we got closer to the ground in London and you can start to see the ground, there is the familiar checkerboard green fields and other plots of land we are so used to seeing from above. However as the little boy sitting behind me looked out his window he kept saying ‘look mom there are so many soccer fields’. Of course I just smiled in the cuteness of his saying that, but it also got me thinking. Of course a rectangleishly shaped green plot of land bordered by either roads or trees looks like a soccer field to a little boy, because that’s all he knows to associate it with. It reminded me of the idea that we only are able to think and live with what is familiar to us. If he had experienced a flight before and been told that this is what the ground looks like from above, then he wouldn’t call them soccer fields.
As I travel to foreign places Id like to think I am arming myself with new ways to view and think about the world, about life. The more we familiarize ourselves with the foreign, and take the leap of faith to unfamiliar territory the more tools we have to view the world and the fewer ‘soccer fields’ there are in our life.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
So I guess I have to leave tomorrow....
I know Ive only been gone for 3 months, but it feels much longer than that. Its very strange to think that Ill be back on a plane tomorrow and flying to California. I cant wait to see my family and friends, and get my hands on a Cali burrito, some sushi and Del Taco. All of Europe has been the most exciting place in the world. There is always something going on, always something to see or do. I wasnt bored at all for the whole time Ive been here.
I know everyone is going to be asking me what my favourite cities are and stuff like that, so I have been thinking about that a lot lately. The places that I consider my favourite will be based a lot on my personal experience there for example, if I met nice people, stayed in a decent hostel, found some cool locals, and ect. I think I had the best experiences in Budapest, Dubrovnik, Ljublijana, Munich, Paris with Hammi, Florence, and Spain in general (which is strange because I wasnt even planning to hit Spain before I left).
I am so happy that I chose to travel alone, I have met so many good people and a couple of them I was blessed enough to get pretty close to and feel quite comfortable with. What I consider a good friend would be someone I can talk for hours with about things we both find interesting, but at the same time be able to sit in a quite room with for just as long and feel completely comfortable, no awkwardness thinking one of us has to speak sort of thing.. if you know what I mean. I guess I just appreciate silence every once in a while, and finding people that can appreciate that along with me is a cool thing. I actually have met a couple people that I had pretty emotional goodbyes with. Most of those people were Australian funny enough. I traveled with Sean for pretty long time, and we went through a lot of crazy stuff together. I met an Australian guy named Mark and we had a pretty emotional goodbye, nothing like a firm man hug that you know means a lot. It was that situation where we both have to leave, both go in opposite directions but had formed such a bond in such a short amount of time. It was pretty neat. He had a girlfriend traveling with him and they were such a cool couple. I really would love to have a companion like that to travel around the world with me. I met a girl that had been working abroad for 4 years and we got along so well had so many good conversations, but unfortunately she was 29 haha. One of these days I guess. I am not coming home married like some people joked would happen, but I did get pretty close lolz... Thats a good story. I guess just the fact that I was traveling alone and got to meet so many people was one of the best experiences of the trip. I havent been alone for a while, meeting new people all the time, and it just working out that you spend the entire time with them.
I learned a lot and got to see so much, but I am not coming home 'a completely different person'. Just a more experienced one I guess. Traveling like this is a great way to get out of some bad habits, which I didnt think about too much. Having no cell phone, no computer is a relieving experience. Making plans to meet people at a certain land mark at a certain time, and just hoping things work out is awesome. I would think I would have anxiety in those situations because I have no way to communicate and find out if they will still be there or any other complications that may arise. I think of myself as a pretty laid back kind of person, I am good at going with the flow. I think I am even more so now because I have adopted the attitude of not worrying about any sort of deadline, or timetable in regards to certain things. Of course I was always punctual and think I am even more so now after getting used to catching trains at certain times and meeting people at certain times, checking out on time, waking up on time are all pretty important when traveling.
I have learned some important things on this trip. Maybe learned is not the right word and 'realized' would be more specific. I will not compromise my values or morals for any one, or anything. I dont and wont succumb to pressure of societies thoughts of what I should be, what I should do. However I will always continue to look upwards, look for ways to do better and be a better person. I am so thankful for the pleasures and joys I have experienced on this trip and the pleasures and joys I have not yet experienced in this life. I have learned to take advantage of the opportunities I am presented with. However, I will remain a skeptic. I dont give away my trust too easily. Its hard sometimes to speak your mind, but I have learned to continue to do so as much as I can. I have learned to put myself in vulnerable situations more often, no matter how uncomfortable I think they might be. Life is a giant risk. Most importantly, I will keep trying to understand Gods plan for me. This trip has taken my faith to another level and for that I am grateful.
Im going to fly into LAX and spend some time at home home, and then make my way down to San Diego. Take some tests for grad school applications. Do some research on studying abroad maybe. Do some reasearch on jobs I can do as well. Ill also be taking a trip to San Francisco pretty soon to see all my friends up there. I really want to keep traveling, I want to visit Australia, and Argentina. Maybe do an Egypt Greece Turkey Israel kind of trip, of course that is probably a little ways off since Im going to need a job first. Love you all.
Ciao
-Kyle
I know everyone is going to be asking me what my favourite cities are and stuff like that, so I have been thinking about that a lot lately. The places that I consider my favourite will be based a lot on my personal experience there for example, if I met nice people, stayed in a decent hostel, found some cool locals, and ect. I think I had the best experiences in Budapest, Dubrovnik, Ljublijana, Munich, Paris with Hammi, Florence, and Spain in general (which is strange because I wasnt even planning to hit Spain before I left).
I am so happy that I chose to travel alone, I have met so many good people and a couple of them I was blessed enough to get pretty close to and feel quite comfortable with. What I consider a good friend would be someone I can talk for hours with about things we both find interesting, but at the same time be able to sit in a quite room with for just as long and feel completely comfortable, no awkwardness thinking one of us has to speak sort of thing.. if you know what I mean. I guess I just appreciate silence every once in a while, and finding people that can appreciate that along with me is a cool thing. I actually have met a couple people that I had pretty emotional goodbyes with. Most of those people were Australian funny enough. I traveled with Sean for pretty long time, and we went through a lot of crazy stuff together. I met an Australian guy named Mark and we had a pretty emotional goodbye, nothing like a firm man hug that you know means a lot. It was that situation where we both have to leave, both go in opposite directions but had formed such a bond in such a short amount of time. It was pretty neat. He had a girlfriend traveling with him and they were such a cool couple. I really would love to have a companion like that to travel around the world with me. I met a girl that had been working abroad for 4 years and we got along so well had so many good conversations, but unfortunately she was 29 haha. One of these days I guess. I am not coming home married like some people joked would happen, but I did get pretty close lolz... Thats a good story. I guess just the fact that I was traveling alone and got to meet so many people was one of the best experiences of the trip. I havent been alone for a while, meeting new people all the time, and it just working out that you spend the entire time with them.
I learned a lot and got to see so much, but I am not coming home 'a completely different person'. Just a more experienced one I guess. Traveling like this is a great way to get out of some bad habits, which I didnt think about too much. Having no cell phone, no computer is a relieving experience. Making plans to meet people at a certain land mark at a certain time, and just hoping things work out is awesome. I would think I would have anxiety in those situations because I have no way to communicate and find out if they will still be there or any other complications that may arise. I think of myself as a pretty laid back kind of person, I am good at going with the flow. I think I am even more so now because I have adopted the attitude of not worrying about any sort of deadline, or timetable in regards to certain things. Of course I was always punctual and think I am even more so now after getting used to catching trains at certain times and meeting people at certain times, checking out on time, waking up on time are all pretty important when traveling.
I have learned some important things on this trip. Maybe learned is not the right word and 'realized' would be more specific. I will not compromise my values or morals for any one, or anything. I dont and wont succumb to pressure of societies thoughts of what I should be, what I should do. However I will always continue to look upwards, look for ways to do better and be a better person. I am so thankful for the pleasures and joys I have experienced on this trip and the pleasures and joys I have not yet experienced in this life. I have learned to take advantage of the opportunities I am presented with. However, I will remain a skeptic. I dont give away my trust too easily. Its hard sometimes to speak your mind, but I have learned to continue to do so as much as I can. I have learned to put myself in vulnerable situations more often, no matter how uncomfortable I think they might be. Life is a giant risk. Most importantly, I will keep trying to understand Gods plan for me. This trip has taken my faith to another level and for that I am grateful.
Im going to fly into LAX and spend some time at home home, and then make my way down to San Diego. Take some tests for grad school applications. Do some research on studying abroad maybe. Do some reasearch on jobs I can do as well. Ill also be taking a trip to San Francisco pretty soon to see all my friends up there. I really want to keep traveling, I want to visit Australia, and Argentina. Maybe do an Egypt Greece Turkey Israel kind of trip, of course that is probably a little ways off since Im going to need a job first. Love you all.
Ciao
-Kyle
San Sebastian Paris London
I ended up staying in San Sebastian for a little while longer that I had originally intended, which was awesome. This would have been a normal thing to do if the weather was good, but it rained every single day that I was there. We did get a couple breaks for sun, and just enough time to run to the beach and hang out for a couple hours, but thats about it. I pretty much sat around all day and talked with the people in the hostel, and it was perfect.
I made some of the best friends of my trip in San Sebastian. In particular there was an Australian couple who had been together for about 5 years. Couples are usually hard to hang out with for whatever reason but they were much different. Lots of good company, good laughter, and good conversation in San Sebastian. I met another Australian couple and ended up traveling with them to Paris and spending a couple days with them.
Visiting Paris and London again was pretty cool because I felt like I knew the place. I was very comfortable and had a good time there. However because they were my first couple of cities I dont think I got to know them as well as I did other places, so I got to do a lot of new stuff as well.
I might treat myself to the Lion King musical before I leave tomorrow, just because I love the Lion King and its supposed to be pretty cool. I was thinking about the 3 movies that I have watched the most in my lifetime and came up with The Lion King, The Rock, and Independence Day. I started busting up laughing when I thought of that, its a pretty random list, but awesome at the same time. I am living above a pub in London because it was the cheapest place I could find, but got lucky that there are some cool people staying there as well. At midnight the pub closes to the public and the hostel guests are the only ones allowed in and there is a nintendo wii, which is pretty cool. It is starting to sink in that I have to leave tomorrow which is a weird feeling.
I made some of the best friends of my trip in San Sebastian. In particular there was an Australian couple who had been together for about 5 years. Couples are usually hard to hang out with for whatever reason but they were much different. Lots of good company, good laughter, and good conversation in San Sebastian. I met another Australian couple and ended up traveling with them to Paris and spending a couple days with them.
Visiting Paris and London again was pretty cool because I felt like I knew the place. I was very comfortable and had a good time there. However because they were my first couple of cities I dont think I got to know them as well as I did other places, so I got to do a lot of new stuff as well.
I might treat myself to the Lion King musical before I leave tomorrow, just because I love the Lion King and its supposed to be pretty cool. I was thinking about the 3 movies that I have watched the most in my lifetime and came up with The Lion King, The Rock, and Independence Day. I started busting up laughing when I thought of that, its a pretty random list, but awesome at the same time. I am living above a pub in London because it was the cheapest place I could find, but got lucky that there are some cool people staying there as well. At midnight the pub closes to the public and the hostel guests are the only ones allowed in and there is a nintendo wii, which is pretty cool. It is starting to sink in that I have to leave tomorrow which is a weird feeling.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Finishing Madrid - On to San Sebastian
I met some really cool people in Madrid, once again. It is amazing how in pretty much every place I stop I am able to find some really genuine people to hang out with, enjoy conversation with, and just get to know pretty well during our few days together. Putting myself out there and getting to know complete strangers is something I would hardly ever do before I left on this trip. Its pretty cool. I have really appreciated not having a computer or phone for this long as well, and considering how much I am on the computer at home, its pretty incredible.
Anyway thanks to a few recommendations from a friend of mine I found some cool places to hang out at in Madrid. I took my new friends there and they all enjoyed them as well. One of the people I was spending time with works 6 months of the year as a tour guide taking people all throughout Europe on busses. The more we talked about it the more it sounded like a great opportunity and it is something that I am thinking about applying for, and since she has worked for the company for 4 years Im sure that her recommendation would get me the job. We´ll see how that works out though, because I am not sure if I want to do that right now. The next opening would be a year and a half from now anyway.
I am still not sure what I want to do when I get home, in terms of school, work, traveling, etc. but I do have a lot more options going through my head, which is good. I think it would be awesome to move somewhere exciting and just get a job doing who knows what. I think I was too concentrated on looking for something that I wanted to do for the rest of my life before I left. Its a pretty American idea to start your career right after you finish school. Not saying that is a bad thing. I got a new book called ¨Whats so great about America¨ which is by, who is becoming my favourite author, Dinesh Dsouza. He is the guy that wrote ¨Whats so great about Christianity¨which I loved so much. This book is just as good and just as easy to read, Ill probably finish it quite soon. Especially considering the train rides I have coming up. San Sebastian took 5.5 hours, to Paris will take about 8 (hopefully at night) and to London will take 3 on the super fast train. During the flight I think Ill get up to date on all the movies I havent seen. Its weird not watching TV or a movie for this long.
San Sebastian is a nice city. Small enough to walk everywhere. The weather today was unfortunately not beach worthy, so instead I went on a hike to the castle of San Sebastian where there is a giant statue of Jesus that they have in the middle of the city, above the castle, on a mountain. It was pretty cool. This whole part of the country is really cool. Really green, lots of hills, some mountains, there is ocean, it rains a good amount, its sunny and warm usually.. all together its pretty neat.
Apparently San Sebastian has more bars and restaurants per square meter than any other city in the world. They have some of the best rated restaurants in the world as well. I think there are 2 Michelin 3 star restaurants here which is incredible. I looked at the menu and I could get a 12 course meal for 140 Euros including wine paired with each dish. Maybe one day.
The pintxos which are tapas in the Basque region are amazing. By far the best Ive had. I got here last night and just wandered around the old town looking for places that were crowded, would have a tiny beer and a pintxo and move on. They charge you by the pintxo and they are usually about 2-3 euros each. All of them are delicious.
So it looks like Im just going to chill in San Sebastian a couple more days and then go back to Paris. There are a couple more hikes I can do here, but Im hoping for some beach weather.
CIAO
-Kyle
Anyway thanks to a few recommendations from a friend of mine I found some cool places to hang out at in Madrid. I took my new friends there and they all enjoyed them as well. One of the people I was spending time with works 6 months of the year as a tour guide taking people all throughout Europe on busses. The more we talked about it the more it sounded like a great opportunity and it is something that I am thinking about applying for, and since she has worked for the company for 4 years Im sure that her recommendation would get me the job. We´ll see how that works out though, because I am not sure if I want to do that right now. The next opening would be a year and a half from now anyway.
I am still not sure what I want to do when I get home, in terms of school, work, traveling, etc. but I do have a lot more options going through my head, which is good. I think it would be awesome to move somewhere exciting and just get a job doing who knows what. I think I was too concentrated on looking for something that I wanted to do for the rest of my life before I left. Its a pretty American idea to start your career right after you finish school. Not saying that is a bad thing. I got a new book called ¨Whats so great about America¨ which is by, who is becoming my favourite author, Dinesh Dsouza. He is the guy that wrote ¨Whats so great about Christianity¨which I loved so much. This book is just as good and just as easy to read, Ill probably finish it quite soon. Especially considering the train rides I have coming up. San Sebastian took 5.5 hours, to Paris will take about 8 (hopefully at night) and to London will take 3 on the super fast train. During the flight I think Ill get up to date on all the movies I havent seen. Its weird not watching TV or a movie for this long.
San Sebastian is a nice city. Small enough to walk everywhere. The weather today was unfortunately not beach worthy, so instead I went on a hike to the castle of San Sebastian where there is a giant statue of Jesus that they have in the middle of the city, above the castle, on a mountain. It was pretty cool. This whole part of the country is really cool. Really green, lots of hills, some mountains, there is ocean, it rains a good amount, its sunny and warm usually.. all together its pretty neat.
Apparently San Sebastian has more bars and restaurants per square meter than any other city in the world. They have some of the best rated restaurants in the world as well. I think there are 2 Michelin 3 star restaurants here which is incredible. I looked at the menu and I could get a 12 course meal for 140 Euros including wine paired with each dish. Maybe one day.
The pintxos which are tapas in the Basque region are amazing. By far the best Ive had. I got here last night and just wandered around the old town looking for places that were crowded, would have a tiny beer and a pintxo and move on. They charge you by the pintxo and they are usually about 2-3 euros each. All of them are delicious.
So it looks like Im just going to chill in San Sebastian a couple more days and then go back to Paris. There are a couple more hikes I can do here, but Im hoping for some beach weather.
CIAO
-Kyle
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